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Northumbrianlanguage Wiki
Welcome to the Northumbrian language wiki! This site is devoted to the standardisation and preservation of Northumbrian, an Anglic language variety native to Northern England - particularly to Northumberland and Northern Durham, as well as northeastern parts of Cumberland. Northumbrian has been spoken in the region for over 1,500 years, and continues to be spoken in several dialectal forms by some Northumbrians today. Up until now, Northumbrians have been deemed to speak a peripheral variety of English. We, however, believe that the Northumbrian dialects belong to a distinct language, which should be given a consistent written form and determined support. Since no suitable army or navy is in sight, we think that Northumbrian should be wholeheartedly supported by not only native speakers, but also writers and readers, native and foreign alike. And by singers. Apart from a heavy load of highly stimulating grammatical stuff and several polemic notes on the inward and outward beauty of Northumbrian, you can find here some writing, reading, and singing you have never seen or heard before. †although Cumbria was never really an integrated part of historic Northumbria, the dialects of northeastern Cumberland are closer to Northumbrian. This speech may, however, still be referred to as Cumbrian in order to account for this historical difference. Language or dialect? As with its closest relative, the Scots language, Northumbrian can be considered a language because it satisfies the comprehensibility test, which states that related dialects become separate languages when they are no longer mutually comprehensible. Much like Spanish and Portuguese or Russian and Ukrainian, Northumbrian in its purest form isn't truly mutually intelligible with Standard English, despite both still being closely Anglic language varieties. Being more closely related to Scots than to English, it cannot be grouped together with contemporary English dialects. But at the same time, it cannot be considered a Southern Scots dialect for historical and cultural reasons - Northumbrian speakers consider themselves to be English, not Scottish. But as with Scots, speakers of Northumbrian are not really bothered about whether their speech is regarded as a language or a dialect, because it can be both. The important point to grasp, however, is that whilst Northumbrian may be considered a dialect of England, it is not a dialect of standard English, as Northumbrian has existed in the region for centuries prior to the introduction of Standard English. Written standard While a consistent written form of Northumbrian greatly helps learning, reading and writing in the language, a standard spoken form of Northumbrian would be a terrible idea. That Northumbrian is a dialectically diverse language is a good thing, and there is no need for us to abandon our dialects. Having fairly consistent — and pan-dialectal — written standard simply allows us to read and communicate with ease in written discourse. Dictionary Important articles File:Placeholder | Grammar |link=A page about your topic File:Placeholder | A Main Character |link=A Main Character File:Placeholder | The First Episode |link=The First Episode File:Placeholder | An Important Location |link=An Important Location File:Placeholder | A Key Event |link=A Key Event File:Placeholder | A Crucial Item |link=A Crucial Item Need help building out this community? * * * * * You can also be part of the larger Fandom family of communities. Visit Fandom's Community Central! Category:Browse